Dodd Middle School Student's Musings

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Almost 85 years ago, in 1933, one of the most atrocious and brutal events of history was in full speed. Around 9,000,000 innocent souls were taken because of the hatred of someone else. What was this event you might ask? The Holocaust.

When young, charismatic, Nazi (National Socialist German Workers’ Party) leader Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany, there was no limit on the horrors and anguish he could create. Adolf Hitler believed that Germany, and in the near future the whole world should look and pray a certain way. He thought that the fair skinned, blond haired, and blue eyed Germans, or Aryans, were the supreme and only race of the world. Hitler targeted his views on Jews, homosexuals, the disabled, gypsies, and any other race that was “inferior” to the Aryans (Nazi Racial Ideology). The solution, concentration camps and imminent death. In 1933, the first concentration camp, Dachau, was opened. Adolf Hitler and the Nazis transported Jews to ghettos (gated living space in city) and concentration camps in order to inflict pain and abuse on them. The conditions were inhumane and torturous. When concentration camps weren’t cruel enough, the Nazis installed killing centers in the largest camps. The burned them and gassed them until finally, the allies (America, England, Soviet Union, and France) raided the camps in 1945 (The Allies). Once all the casualties were counted, 6,000,000 Jewish men, women, and children were murdered by Nazi Germany. The torture they faced is so cruel and so unimaginable that today’s generation has no concept of truly how atrocious it was. For many, this subject is touchy because it has to do with religion, extreme death, complicated idealism’s, and unfathomable brutality. Many parents, teachers, survivors, and students are wondering if this subject is appropriate for school. I wholeheartedly believe, even though I am Jewish, that the Holocaust should be taught in schools. There are ways lessons can be conducted that aren’t insensitive and offensive to victims and survivors. Teaching the Holocaust at a young age allows children to learn the roots of prejudice and anti-semitism (United States Holocaust Memorial Musuem). It is so important to introduce children to these issues so that they grow up knowing the difference between right and wrong and good and evil. I know this topic is pretty dark, but it’s important to share this message so the future generation can prevent history from repeating itself.

Evolution is a very controversial subject in schools. In fact, many protests have risen in states after a school taught it in their curriculum. What I don’t get, however, is why people are up in arms at this whole thing. People are merely teaching a theory, something that could be believed, and it is extremely important to our education system nowadays.

Biology is one of the most important fields of knowledge of which humans can learn. The natural way of life, the way that organisms have developed to become the graceful animals and humans that we know today. Biology is the road to understanding life. So, if we are to learn about life, we must understand how life came to be as it is. The mere understanding idea that life adapted to become the way it is today can help us in the field of biology. You don’t have to believe in it. It can help us follow the trail of fossils of an prehistoric animal up until its modern equivalent. It can help us find the environments, flora, and fauna of ages long ago.. Also, Evolution is proving to be very useful in the search for a better kind of medicine, and vaccines, for people need to understand that viruses can mutate in a blink of an eye.

Did you know that there are about 160,000 children that miss school every day out of fear of being bullied? A bully is defined as a person who uses strength or power to harm or intimidate those who are weaker. Bullying affects many people , some more harshly than others. I am sure that in many instances we don’t even notice that we are hurting someone elses feelings. But the fact of the matter is ,that when we say these hurtful things people will feel like they don’t belong. Diversity is a good thing and what makes us… us. Bullying is something here at Dodd that we take very seriously. We even have a bullying incident form. Though no matter how much the school officials try to keep a safe school climate, bullying still seems to creep into the school atmosphere.

I believe that the only way to diminish bullying it to stand up for the victims. There should be less bystanders and more people standing up for the victims. We can have hundreds of assemblies, but they won’t make a difference unless we ,the students, change. Sometimes we are afraid to stand up to the bully because we are afraid that the bully might turn on us, and we might become the next victim. But if we all stand up to the bully, the tables will be turned. Doing what is right is a lot harder that doing what is the less noticeable. I believe that if we each stick up for the victim, they will feel like they are not alone. We might just turn that bad situation a little bit better. So next time you see someone getting bullied, try to come out of your comfort zone and stand up for what you believe is right.

The U.S’s public school system has decided to test a new idea they have created called the pilot program. This program will be adding an additional 300 hours of schooling to the public school year. They believe that this new idea will help struggling students do better in school, and give more time for the teachers to better help kids get a better understanding of their academics. Another anticipated benefit from this program is to ensure better performance in the classroom by the students. They have selected just a small number of five states to experiment this technique on. They consist of Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, and Tennessee. Just under some 20,000 students will be affected as this experiment is only being tested at 40 different schools.

I think that trying this idea may be worth a shot. I think this because they have had many other unsuccessful attempts to help the children and improve their overall school performance. I also think that they should try this just to see how the children would adjust to a longer school day. Having a longer school day can also prepare the students for future jobs that may require long hours of sitting which takes great patience which they can now build in the classroom. Another benefit of this idea is that the student’s grades may improve considering they will now have more time with their school teachers. Longer school days may also enforce better behavior because the children now have to see people they dislike for a greater amount of time than usual. With these many anticipated benefits the pilot program may be extremely successful on the youth of America.